Consecutive-reading gauging device



July 24, 1951 R. P. JOHNSON 2,561,662

CONSECUTIVE-READING GAUGING DEVICE Filed April 22, 1949 Patented `uly 24, 19.51

UNITED. STATES PArENrfo F'Frcr 23561.662 Y ooNsEcU'rIvE-READING GAUGING n-EvIcE Raymond;l P'.V Johnson; New Baltimore, N. Y.,y as4- signor Ato Soc'ony-Vaouumlil Goinp'any, Icor'- porated; a corporation of New York `pplioation.April 22', 1949', serialNb. 89,092-

i 1 This application is directed togauging devices' used in determiningthe'amountof liquid in' large tanks. It sparticularlydirected to a combina tion of bob and tape which can b'e readily and easily" connected or` discorinebted.

H In rnany industries it is necessary to maintain large quantities oflituid'mat'erial in storage prior to processing or distribiition.` This' is particu- 1ar1y true Vof the` petrolurrrindujstry in the ou fields, at the refineries', and at the distribution points. 'I-he'se liquidA petroleum stocks" are stored in large tanks whichmay" be of thousands of gallons capacity'. Itis importantin the opera;n tion gf this: industry 'GratuitV quantity of materiall Within? these tanks be` known Witf a, Tealsonable degree of a'ccuracyl- This information has been furnishedy in the prior art b'yl" dropping aplumb bob on the endI ofi` a scale' tape into the tank to determine th'e height of`liquid therein.

Knowing the physical dimensions of the tank",v

the quantity of' liquid can be calculated by sim'- ple4 mathematics.

the bottom of` the tank and read" thetape at the pointwherethe wetting. stops. pose aninnagebob is used inasmuch asthe rfesult is the amount ofvfmaterial in the tnik. In' othercases, howeverf itis more expeditious to drop the bob to the surface `of the liquid and' determine the distance trom the top 'of the tank tothe surfacev of thelliquidl For this purpose an outage bob `is `used. the result being the'v amount of materialthat can be accominodated` in thatl tank. value can be subtracted" from the-A knownl totalcapacity of the `tank to determine the amount of liquid in the tank.

A.In tanks of .this type.water is continually con# densed from the air abovel the liquid within the tank" because of. thefluctuating air temperature.' The water accumulates on the bottom of the tank. In order to determine accurately theY amount of lproductor stock in the tank, the quantity of water must be determined and this subtracted from the calculated amount of oil obtained by using. an innageor outage bob,tas herei'nbefore indicated. Several chalks,4 paints, and` pastes have been used in the prior art-for this purpose.` The innage bob and lower end of the scale are painteduor covered with the chalk. The paint or "chalkwis brought into contact with the water when the innage bobis lowered topthe bottom! of the tank. The chalk, paint or paste is removed by water, or its color isI changed, whereas the chalk,paint `or paste is unaiected byF the petroleum stock abovev'thewfater. Thus I [nsome cases, it isexp'edient" to drop the bob` For this pur-` scale must be Arepaint'ed after e'ach reading. Tir

a manner similar "to thev above-described rleftlolll of taking outage readings; the Wat-er level cani be determinedV by using an outage bob. t

` Inasmuch' as the Water' level in these tanks is usually low, the level usually occurs along? the length of the image bob: It is desirable;

therefore, that the innage bobhave scale rea'difv ings on its` surface" to"` permit reading the water level Without resort to another" scale; IA' fui-V therfmp'rovement is` obtained by having" the scales readings `on the bob' positively aligned with the" scalereadings on thetapej nabling: the" opera-H' tor to quijcklyndthe' reading; 'y

'i For" a variety ofA reasons,A it is" convenient to` be ablt'o rap'idlyv and aSil'fr discolfinecti trie""bob"y from the tape' and connect it to thetape. For* exampleit is co-nveiiientto disc'onnectfth bob; after a readinghas4 been takeny in' order"toap ply" the paint or chalk forthe' next reading; AsL another example, it may be desired to discony ne'ct thebob` ironiv the" scalewhile' CarryingV it7 from one tank' to' al`r1"0tlfi`e`ty Thisis' dsiiblebcause the` hin steel tape" maybe permanently: bent by the weight of the bob if Carried1 im@I properly or storedi'zprope'1'13"L The prior art shovvs aV perforated` lug-on theV top or capof the plumb' bob' for engagement with asnap" hook secured" to vthe lower end of the tape. This` is unsatisfactory forl` several*rea:A sons.` For example; there isa dead spot about the point' of attachment `W`h`er`e no readings can" t taken directly; if" thewaterlevel occurs'irr that region a" Scale must be' placcdalongsi'd tli bob and' tap' to' Obtain" the Watel'f reading. S' another example. the bob` tends to oscillateYon` the lend of` the scalec'au's'ingthe scale readings" on the botto te' out' ofaiigrent with the stale readings the tape. This tender@ make'- it theb'ob is reino'ved i'iir'n'A the tank. `As'afui"`- therl.exar'ple,` the motionof thesna'p hookcauses'- the` eye or perfora'ted"y lug' to wear. The free movement, atr the point" of' attachment makes itl` possible for"r erroneous `readings to be taken,

The objectof this' invention was to providel atank gauging` d'eviceufor use in measuring. the water and petroleum liquid` levels in supply andstoragetanks which could be `.readily and easily connectedto and disconnected"I from a tapescal andl which` ,would-l readL .continuously along` the of the innage bob, a portion of which is shown in section, and in which;

Figure 2 is a vertical elevation of the side of the innage bob, a portion ofl which is shown in section, and in which;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the bob cap, and

in which;

Figure 4 is a vertical elevation of the bob cap, and in which;

Figure 5 is a horizontal cross-section of Figure 1 through the plane 5-5, and in which:

Figure 6 is a Vertical elevation of the outage bob.

The innage bob, as shown on Figure 1, is composed primarily of three members, an elongated body Il), a generally pointedr cap II, and a similar shaped base I2. The body has cylindrical, axially-aligned holes in each end into which the cap II and base I2 are inserted. The plug portion of the base I2 fits tightly in the lower hole in the body I0 and is locked in place by a look screw I3 threaded into it through a hole in the side wall of the body I0. The plug portion of the cap is fitted to the upper hole in the body I0 vsuiiiciently tight toprevent rotation of the cap relative to the body during normal use of the plumb' bob and yet sufciently loose to permit the cap to be rotated by hand when desired. The body ID can be of any suitable crossslection, such as, for example, circular, square, or rectangular. A square cross-section, however, is preferred. The cap Il and base I2 can be of generally conical or pyramidal shape. In the embodiment shown on Figure 1, thebody i0 has a hollow center of circular cross-section, the inside diameter being smaller than the inside diameter of the holes in the ends. A circular disc I4 isdriven into the upper hole of the body I0 before the cap Il .is inserted to seal the hollow center of the body l0 from the outside. The disc bears against theinternal-shoulder` located at the bottom of the upper hole.

The cap Il has a vertical slot which passes through it and extends through one side. The upper end of the body IIJ has asimilar Vertical slot through the side Wall surrounding the upper, axially-aligned hole. A ltransverse hole IE is located at the bottom ofthe vertical slot in the body IU at a location immediately `above the disc I4. By rotating the cap Il to a predetermined, location, the two slots in the cap II and body I0 can be made to register and a suitable scale tape I1 inserted therethrough into the bob.

A lpin I8, attached to the endof the tape l1, is`

made smaller than the hole I6 so that it can be installed in the bob through the hole I6. After the` tape I'I and pin I8 are installed in the bob the cap II can be rotated to place the vertical slots in the cap I I and body. I0 out of alignment. The p in I8 is made larger in diameter than the width of the slot in the cap to lock the tape in the bob. When in the looked position, the pin I8 Yis held between the disc I4 and bottom surface of the cap Il, preventing any movement of the pin I4 and tape I'I-relative to the body I0. Graduations are suitably located on the outside ofthe base I2, body II), and cap II, starting'from zero at the bottom. The graduations on the tape I1 are made so that when the cap Il is rotated to lock the tape I1 in the bob the graduations on the cap Il and tape I'I are brought into alignment with the graduations on the outside of the base I2 and body I0 to form a continuous-reading scale. l

In Figure 2 is shown'a ,side view of, the innage bob with a portion illustrated in section. The tape II and pin I8 are indicated in the locked position in the bob. The set screw I9 is threaded through the wall of the body I0 to serve a multiplicity of purposes. The screw I9 has a cylindrical tip of reduced diameter in axial alignment with the axis of the screw. The tip of the screw I9 locates in a horizontal slot in the plug portion of the cap II, described hereinafter.`

Figure 3, a plan view of the cap II, shows the location of the slot into which the tape I'I is Ainserted. The appropriate graduations are placed on the sloping side of the cap II, spaced to read,

correctly when viewed horizontally.4

Figure 4 is a vertical elevation showing the graduations 20 on the sloping side. The horizontal slot 2l, located infthe plug portion of the cap II, is adapted to cooperate with the screw I9, describedhereinbefore. The cylin` drical tip of the screw Isis-made smaller vin diameter than the width of theslot 2| so that it can penetrate the slot. The tip ofthe screw I9, therefore,'prevents vertical movement of the cap II relative to the body IIJ. In addition,thev

tip of the screw I9acts as a stopto limit the extent of 'rotation of the capwhen installingor removing the tape I'I. l

Figure `5 shows a crosssection of the bob as shown on Figure l throughfthe section 5-5.`

The t between the plug portion of the cap II and the upper hole'n the end-of the bob I0 is made tight enough to preventthe cap Il'from rotating in normal usage of the bob. This prevents the tape from workingv out of alignmentv with the graduations on the bob surface after the ytapev has been installed inthe bob. This friction 'grip can be increasedy by the setscrew I9. `Theliameter of the set screw I9 is larger than the` width of the horizontal slot 2| in the cap II." By tightening theset screw I9, the shoulder on the end of the screw is'brought,` to

`bear against the plug portion of the caplrl k1on each sidel of the slot 2|, increasing the friction* grip between the cap II and body I0.

In Figure 6 is shownthe outage -bob incorporating theginstant invention. `The construction of the outage bob is similar toI the-innage bobwith the exception of the shape of the base-22; The bottom of the base 2l visrnade flat lin order to set up a ripple on the surface of theliquid Whenthe bobislowered into the liquid. The ripple can be seen .byl the operator vfrom the top lof the tank; indicating that the surface' has been pierced the bob; This is necessarybecause the operator may be a considerable distance abovepthe liquid surface` when taking the reading, for example,

Y 50 or 60 feet above the surface. Under such con-v ditions, it is diicult to determine when the bob has reached the surface withoutajsurface-indieating means. v,The vliquidvle'xfel usually Wets the outage bob somewhere on thefgb'ottom siX inches of the bob. The zero of thescale placed near the top `o the bob so thatthe operator can read down to the mark made by the `liquid on the bob. This reading can then be added'to'the scale reading taken-atthe ltop of the VtanktoV obtain the true outage reading. Addition 0f scale readings is an easier process than subtraction, and can be done with less chance of error.

The body l0 of these bobs can be made of soft material, for example, brass o1' a soft bronze. The cap II and bases l2, 22, however, are sometimes brought into hard contact with the metal portions of the tank during the gauging operations. It is, therefore, preferable that they be made of a hardened material, such as, for example, beryllium bronze, to prevent them from being damaged by the contact. It is desirable that they be constructed of non-sparking material to provide for greater safety when gauging innammable materials.

The invention is not intended to be limited to the specific examples described hereinbefore. The invention is intended to be limited only by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A tank gauging bob comprising in combination a vertical elongated body, said body possessing circular axial holes in each end, a base adapted to be partially inserted in the lower end of said body, means to lock said base in said body, a cap adapted to be partially inserted in the upper end of said body, said body possessing a vertical slot in the upper end wall surrounding said upper hole, said cap possessing a vertical slot which passes through the cap and extends through one side wall, said cap possessing a hori- Zontal slot in the portion of said cap which penetrates the hole in said body, a locking means projected through the end Wall of said body surrounding said upper hole adapted to penetrate the horizontal slot in said cap to limit the movement of said cap, a graduated tape adapted to be inserted through the vertical slots in said body and cap when the cap is rotated into a position which brings the slots into juxtaposition, a pin attached to the end of said tape for preventing longitudinal movement between the tape and body when they are connected, said base, body, and cap possessing graduations on their outer surfaces whereby when said tape and pin are inserted in 4 the vertical slots in said body and cap and the cap is rotated to a position which brings the graduations on the base, body, cap and tape into alignment forming a consecutive reading scale, the pin and tape are held in a xed position relative to said body.

2. A tank gauging device comprising in combination an elongated body having an axial circular hole in one end and possessing an axial slot with a hole at the bottom thereof through the wall formed by the axial hole, a cap adapted t0 engage in the axial hole in said body, said cap possessing a transverse slot, a screw possessing a reduced diameter tip, said screw adapted to be threaded through the wall of Said body to introduce the tip of said screw into the transverse slot in said cap, said cap possessing an axial slot in one side, a tape, a pin attached to the bottom of said tape, whereby when the tape and pin are inserted into the axial slots in said cap and body the cap can be rotated 'to lock the tape in the body.

3. A tank gauging device comprising in combination an elongated body, means ,dening a Cylindrical cavity in one end of said body, said cavity having its axis aligned with the axis of the body, a cap, means formed integral with said cap adapted to be inserted in said cavity, said cap having a substantially pointed end7 a tape, a pin attached to the end of said tape extending beyond the edges of the tape, means dening axial slots in the end of said body and side of said cap adapted to register by rotation of said cap to a predetermined position relative to said body to receive said tape and pin, means for securing said pin in xed position relative to said body after said cap is rotated, and common means for limiting the extent of rotation of said cap relative to said body and maintaining said cap in engagement with said body.

RAYMOND P. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,680,297 Lewis Aug. 14, 1928 2,226,060 Johnson Dec. 24, 1940 2,381,698 Sireci Aug. "l, 1945 

